Misinformation during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic became a rampant problem, resulting in what the World Health Organization labeled an infodemic. The onslaught of information from various sources with a lack of central messaging from government figureheads has historically been a problem during public health crises, such as Ebola and Salmonella outbreaks.
The COVID-19 infodemic sparked mass panic and dire consequences in many industries, showing a need for targeted messaging to effectively reach the correct audiences with necessary information. Understanding information-seeking behaviors of specific audiences can help agricultural communicators strategically target evidence-based communication to the right people during a crisis.
Lamm Lab researchers Allison Fortner, Kristin Gibson, and Alexa Lamm wanted to identify which mainstream news sources U.S. residents used to seek information about the pandemic during COVID-19 shelter in place orders and determine if those news sources varied based on geographic location.
This study used Chi-square tests to analyze survey data collected while most of the U.S. was under shelter in place orders during May 2020. Researchers found that the mainstream sources used most were government based – including White House press briefings, state governor press briefings, and the CDC.
Perhaps the most surprising finding was that when divided by geographic region, residents of the Northeast and West accessed all media sources more frequently than residents of the South and Midwest.
What does this mean for agricultural communicators?
Communicating to the public during a time of crisis may require a nuanced approach based on your audience and their location. Not all residents access information in the same way, and agricultural communicators must understand which audiences may be more difficult to reach or require different approaches.
Click here to read the full peer-reviewed article and recommendations for future research and practice, published in the Journal of Applied Communications.
